So, did you hear? Yeah, the Angels made a trade yesterday! They dealt some slugger-type player for a couple of young pitchers. Maybe you can Google it, or read about it here in today's Halolinks:
- First off, everyone wants to know, "Who won the deal?" So far, most of the pundits think the Halos came out on top, with the White Sox also getting more value than they gave up. What does that mean for the Diamondbacks? Well, they got Trumbo: Mark Trumbo trade reactions: Who won the deal? - MLB Daily Dish. "Finally we come to the origin of this deal—the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. While Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago may not exactly make the eyes of readers widen, it appears to me that LA got far more in return than I ever expected. While power is at a premium, especially in this market, we all know Trumbo's issues. One of the Angels' biggest problems last season was the severe lack of a starting rotation. Adding Skaggs and Santiago to a rotation built around ace Jered Weaver and the left-handed C.J. Wilson could very-much benefit this team."
- Jeff Sullivan takes a look at the deal: D-Backs Make Headlines While Angels, White Sox Make Gains - FanGraphs Baseball. "Shifting to the Angels, they lose Trumbo, but they were prepared for that. They lose a player to be named, but presumably they’re always prepared for that. The deal addresses their lack of rotation depth, and while I’ve already said what I have to say on Santiago, he can at least be a functional sixth or seventh starter. Skaggs is the get, and he should work out of the rotation right away. He’s theirs through 2019 if they want him." I don't know, maybe it's my "homerism" coming into play, but I think Santiago has the potential to be more than just a 6th or 7th starter. Heck, if that's what the Angels think of him, they should've offered Jerome Williams arbitration. Wait, nix that...Williams would cost about $3.5M more. Never mind.
- I've read this in a couple of other places: Angels better hope that trading Mark Trumbo doesn't backfire - latimes.com. "Skaggs, 22, was a part of the Angels' incredible draft class of 2009. Mike Trout was the headliner, followed by Skaggs and Garrett Richards, two-fifths of the Angels' rotation next season, and Patrick Corbin, a National League All-Star last season. In 2010, the Angels fired the man who drafted them all, scouting director Eddie Bane." Tony Reagins made quite a few dumb transactions, but getting rid of Eddie Bane has got to be the worst.
- Another benefit of yesterday's deal was making some payroll flexibility: The Angels, Diamondbacks and White Sox deal: Who wins?. "The trade solves a big problem for the Angels. Only Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson were locked into rotation spots next season, with Garrett Richards and Joe Blanton as the other experienced candidates. The addition of both Santiago and Skaggs could potentially bump Blanton from the roster if the club isn't willing to let him work through his own home run problems (a 3.84 xFIP suggests that Blanton's 6.04 ERA was just a tad unfortunate, but that's a story for another day). The Angels also gain some additional payroll flexibility since both pitchers will earn league minimum salaries. That could help the club bring in another starting pitcher or reliever, or sign a potent designated hitter-type bat that falls through the cracks." LA Angels eye open market with freed-up payroll after Mark Trumbo trade - angels.com. "The Angels have roughly $20 million of wiggle room before hitting the luxury-tax threshold of $189 million, and Dipoto said they'll be "very aggressive with how we fill our pitching needs." The Angels have five Major League starters, but three of them -- Skaggs, Santiago and Garrett Richards -- have Minor League options." How the club uses that flexibility is just as important as the players they received in the trade. Adding a top-tier starter would make sense, if they can find one. And the possible signing of a "veteran bat" could help replace Trumbo's bat.
- There's been mention of Raul Ibanez (please NO!) as the type of hitter the Angels could get on a one-year deal, but how about this guy: Yankees intend to keep Gardner, will try to move Ichiro instead - CBSSports.com. "The issue may be that Ichiro has a limited trade market." Someone suggested a Ichiro-Blanton trade. I think that's a great idea.
- Or perhaps this guy for the rotation. That is, if they ever figure out what the hell they're doing: Rakuten Eagles still don't have a decision made on Japanese ace Tanaka - ESPN. "Rakuten Eagles president Yozo Tachibana says no decision has been made on whether star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka will be made available to Major League Baseball teams. Tachibana met with reporters Tuesday at the baseball winter meetings. He plans to talk with Tanaka, likely next week. "First of all, discuss it with him," Tachibana said. "I don't know if he wants to do it." Seriously? The owner of the team hasn't even talked to his player to see if he even wants to be posted??
- Someone please tell this guy over at the OC Register that it is no longer 1988. Baseball analysis has progressed beyond a pitcher's wins, losses, and ERA: Fryer: Trade doesn't add up for Angels - The Orange County Register. "The Angels on Tuesday traded their most reliable power hitter and RBI producer for two pitchers whose 2013 output was a combined 6-12 record with an aggregate 3.88 ERA." Does anyone wonder why the Register no longer is relevant?
- I miss Sam Miller. I miss his smile. His warmth. But most of all, I miss his insight and wit:
Must be weird for Mark Trumbo to have MLB GMs offering lots of stuff for him and errbody on Twitter talking about how terrible he is.
— Sam Miller (@SamMillerBP) December 10, 2013 - At first I was all, "WTF, Rob Neyer! I thought you were fly!"
The Angels just traded the guy who led them in homers in each of last three seasons. Why? http://t.co/MW19Oj0iY7
— robneyer (@robneyer) December 10, 2013 - I thought this was a cool photo. They're doing some maintenance on the the wall at Wrigley:
- I guess it's true...you can't buy love: Albert Pujols makes eye-opening comments about the Cardinals - News Democrat. "Pujols appeared on local sports radio yesterday to talk about the election of former Redbirds manager Tony La Russa to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and during the conversation the subject changed to newly acquired St. Louis outfielder Peter Bourjos. His former teammate in Anaheim, Pujols predicted great things for Bourjos as a starting player. And then he said that while he hates to see the young centerfielder go, he told Bourjos that he was fortunate that he was going to get to go play in front of the best fans and for the best organization in baseball." The Angels give you almost a quarter of a billion dollars, and you still can't get her out of your mind?
- There was also another trade yesterday, a pretty good one for the Rockies: Brett Anderson traded by Oakland Athletics to Colorado Rockies - ESPN. "The Colorado Rockies acquired left-hander Brett Anderson from the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday in exchange for pitchers Drew Pomeranz and Chris Jensen. The Rockies also will receive $2 million from the A's to help offset Anderson's salary, a source told ESPN's Buster Olney."